The Top 25 Nintendo DS Games

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Newly revised for 2012! We rank the best games on Nintendo's original dual-screened handheld and crown a new #1.

By IGN Nintendo Team

Eight years, four hardware versions and millions of sales later, Nintendo's DS has proven itself as one of the most important and impactful video game systems ever released. Once thought to be just a gimmick with its two separate displays, clamshell design and touch screen interface, the oddity of DS debuted as a "third pillar" for Nintendo but went on to dethrone the company's titanic Game Boy brand and claim the handheld market for its own. Over the years it's been our privilege to cover the many different games that helped make that success happen, and occasionally we've also collected our thoughts in the form of Top 25 countdowns – bringing you, in a concise list, what we believe are the best of the best for Nintendo's DS.

Now, we're doing it again. What follows is our latest version of the venerable countdown, updated to take into account all the great games released since we last published this list two years ago. Read it, take it in, and then prepare to voice either your approval or disagreement through our Comments box at the end – because we're pretty sure this edition's going to stir up a little controversy.

Taking down a tree with an ax. Or a flamethrower. Or a beaver. God fighting Satan on a skateboard. Traveling back in time to capture a T-Rex, then riding it back to the future to eat robot zombies. Scribblenauts, the game that let you summon into existence anything you could imagine, captivated everyone at E3 2009 and earned our Best of Show award, the only time a DS title managed that feat. Its sequel Super Scribblenauts gets the nod to kick off our Top 25, though, as it fixed the control problems that plagued the first game and added adjectives to the mix. (So that time-traveling T-Rex became a giant, orange, insatiable time-traveling T-Rex.)

Only Japan got to experience the quirky, sing-songy, pressing-buttons-to-the-beat action of Rhythm Tengoku on the Game Boy Advance, but that title did so well in Nintendo's home territory that this DS sequel was given the greenlight around the globe. Tapping along or flicking the stylus across the touch screen to match the action in such oddball scenarios as a farmer stomping the ground to harvest crops, ghosts singing at a rock concert or and endless ping-pong ball rally, Rhythm Heaven was the perfect blend of challenge and charm.

Legendary game designer Koji Igarashi and his team of fellow creators at Konami refined Castlevania action and exploration into a science on Nintendo's GBA, then brought three more incredible Dracula-hunting quests to series fans on the DS. Portrait of Ruin was the second to debut on the dual-screened system, and it made its mark by doubling your playable heroes – whip-wielding Jonathan Morris and magic-master Charlotte Aulin quested through the haunted manor together as you switched between controlling both to take down obstacles one hero alone could never overcome.

The Kirby franchise's versatility has proven to not only be its most consistent element, but its greatest asset as well. Mass Attack introduced the notion of controlling a squad of Kirbys that collectively had to work towards common goals while avoiding damage. Not only were the touch controls perfectly implemented, but the game had a scalable difficulty of sorts, rewarding players who could avoid harming their pink puffballs. Balancing creativity and challenge, Mass Attack may have arrived late in the life of the DS, but it instantly proved to be one of the most memorable games in the system's library – and in Kirby history.

After years as a series exclusive to PlayStation consoles, Square Enix abruptly shifted gears and brought Dragon Quest's ninth installment to a Nintendo handheld instead. The shocking change in strategy was simple math, according to the studio – the DS simply had the most units sold out of all gaming platforms, and Square Enix wanted the ambitious DQIX to have as big an audience as possible. The game itself then impressed us all even more than its creators' boldness, offering an addictive, customizable and connected Quest adventure that cast you as the hero yourself, and took the series one step closer to MMOs.